February is, for most, the month of love. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, readers are looking for something to get them in the mood. What better way to do that than by reading queer stories?
If you have read the books in our LGBTQIA picks for January, we have 6 new titles to add to your TBR list. Hache Pueyo, Saara El-Arifi, and Nussaibah Younis are among the authors we highlight this month.
In order of release date, here are 6 LGBTQIA books we are looking forward to reading this February:
1. But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo – February 11
But Not Too Bold will be everything gothic fantasy fans like. After the death of the old keeper of the keys, Dália must dive into the drawers that keep Anatema’s memory to figure out what happened. Anatema is a humanoid spider that looks to feed off laudanum and human brides.
What Dália’s plan doesn’t account for is that Anatema can’t resist a beautiful woman and always ends up devouring brides that cross her path. Can she be the one who survives?
Book Description: The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings.
The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious.
House―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.
Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor’s death, Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.
But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.
2. Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi – February 18
Cursebound follows the events of Faebound, in which the elven sisters must fight the fae, danger, and love to stay alive and succeed. This time around, Yeeran and Lettle are trapped between love and duty as they face the war between the kingdom of the fae and the kingdom of the elven. Can they survive? Can peace end the war?
Book Description: The second book in the enchanting trilogy about two elven sisters who become imprisoned in the intoxicating world of the fae, where danger and love lie in wait, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Faebound.
Yeeran and her sister Lettle find themselves torn between love and duty as the war between the fae and elven kingdoms heats up.
3. Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis – February 25
Fundamentally tells the story of Dr. Nadia Amin after writing a paper in which she believes in the possibility of rehabilitating ISIS brides. After the publication of her article, the United Nations reaches out to Nadia and asks her to visit refugee camps in Iraq to begin the radicalization of ISIS-affiliated women.
When she arrives at the camp, Nadia realizes her task might be harder than she expected as she is met with rude and hostile women. However, her perspective changes when she meets Sara. Nadia focuses her attention on bringing Sara home as she feels a unique pull toward this woman.
Book Description: A wickedly funny and audacious debut novel following an academic who flees from heartbreak and lands in Iraq with an insane job offer—only to be forced to do the work of confronting herself.
When Dr. Nadia Amin, a long-suffering academic, publishes an article on the possibility of rehabilitating ISIS brides, the United Nations comes calling, offering an opportunity to lead a deradicalization program for the ISIS-affiliated women held in Iraqi refugee camps. Looking for a way out of London after a painful, unexpected breakup, Nadia leaps at the chance.
In Iraq, Nadia quickly realizes she’s in over her head. Her direct reports are hostile and unenthused about taking orders from an obvious UN novice, and the murmurs of deradicalization being inherently unethical and possibly illegal threaten to end Nadia’s UN career before it even begins.
Frustrated by her situation and the unrelenting heat, Nadia decides to visit the camp with her sullen team, composed of Goody Two-shoes Sherri who never passes up an opportunity to remind Nadia of her objections; and Pierre, a snippy Frenchman who has no qualms about perpetually scrolling through Grindr.
At the camp, after a clumsy introductory session with the ISIS women, Nadia meets Sara, one of the younger refugees, whose accent immediately gives her away as a fellow East Londoner. From their first interaction, Nadia feels inexplicably drawn to the rude girl in the diamanté headscarf. She leaves the camp determined to get Sara home.
But the system Nadia finds herself trapped in is a quagmire of inaction and corruption. One accomplishment barely makes a dent in Nadia’s ultimate goal of freeing Sara . . . and the other women, too, of course. And so, Nadia makes an impossible decision leading to ramifications she could have never imagined.
A triumph of dark humor, Fundamentally asks bold questions: Who can tell someone what to believe? And how do you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
4. The Other March Sisters by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, and Liz Parker – February 25
If you ever wondered what the lives of Meg, Beth, and Amy March looked like, The Other March Sisters pulls inspiration from Little Women to tell the story of the sisters that may have fallen behind Jo’s shadow. Meg is married and has twins but doesn’t feel her life is happy and fulfilling. To find some joy, she turns to her garden, turning it into a hobby and a way to help other women.
Beth is enjoying her life as much as she can, knowing her days are counted. By doing so, she finds someone who becomes an unexpected source of joy. And Amy is traveling through Europe, pursuing her dream of becoming an artist. She is trying to find a way to stay true to herself and her art while doing what’s best for her family.
Book Description: Giving all the Little Women the stories they deserve at last, this imaginative historical novel and companion to the much-loved classic draws Meg, Beth, and Amy March from behind the shadow of Jo – Louisa May Alcott’s alter-ego and the “author” of Little Women – as vibrant and unforgettable characters grappling with societal strictures, queer love, motherhood, chronic illness, artistic ambition, and more.
A riveting reimagining for readers of March by Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Miller’s Caroline and Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.
I’m sure you believe you know their story from reading that other book, which told you an inspiring tale about four sisters. It told you a story, but did it tell you the story?
Four sisters, each as different as can be. Through the eyes and words of Jo, their characters and destinies became known to millions. Meg, pretty and conventional. Jo, stubborn, tomboyish, and ambitious. Beth, shy and good-natured, a mortal angel readily accepting her fate. And Amy, elegant, frivolous, and shallow. But Jo, for all her insight, could not always know what was in her sisters’ thoughts, or in their hearts.
With Jo away in New York, pursuing her dreams of being a writer, Meg, Beth, and Amy follow their own paths. Meg, newly married with young twins, struggles to find the contentment that Marmee assured her would come with domesticity. Unhappy and unfulfilled, she turns to her garden, finding there not just a hobby but a calling that will allow her to help other women in turn.
Beth knows her time is limited. Still, part of her longs to break out of her suffocating cocoon at home, however briefly. A new acquaintance turns into something more, offering unexpected, quiet joy.
Amy, traveling in Europe while she pursues her goal of becoming an artist, is keenly aware of the expectation that she will save the family by marrying well. Through the course of her journey, she discovers how she can remain true to herself, true to her art, and true to the love that was always meant to be.
By purposefully leaving Jo off the page, authors Liz Parker, Ally Malinenko, and Linda Epstein give the other March sisters room to reveal themselves through conversations, private correspondence, and intimate moments—coming alive in ways that might surprise even daring, unconventional Jo.
5. Big Name Fan by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare – February 25
Craven’s Daughter was a fan-favorite show that sadly ended after five years. Even though fans wanted the stars, Bex and Sam, to end up together on the show and in real life, the producers were hardly against it. The end of the show was also tainted by the terrible death of the actresses’ friend and makeup artist, Jen Arnot.
Now, Big Name Fan finds the actresses back together, leading a rewatch podcast with special guests. The first guest played a murder victim during the first season but is now back to drop a bombshell: one of the fans who writes fanfic about the show is someone from the inside. Bex and Sam come together to discover who Big Name Fan is and whether Jen’s death was natural or accidental.
Book Description: Bexley Simon and Sam Farmer aren’t detectives, but they play them on TV. Well, played, past tense. The iconic cult hit that was Craven’s Daughter ended five years ago, and their friendship died along with it. Fans were disappointed that the pair’s legendary chemistry went unfulfilled—and other fans were crushed that the actual spark between actresses Bex and Sam didn’t pay off, either. The network never intended for two women to get romantic, in life or onscreen, despite the fans. But the bigger tragedy was the loss of their dear friend, makeup artist Jen Arnot, whose accidental death cast a pall over the series’ last episodes.
Now the network has decided on a reunion special, and Bex and Sam are thrust together once more as hosts of a rewatch podcast that will feature favorite episodes. Their first guest—a megawatt star who played a murder victim early on—drops a bombshell. Among the millions of pixels of fanfic written about the show online, one truly prolific author, known in the fiction world as the show’s Big Name Fan, was an insider, almost certainly someone from the cast or crew.
As the podcast moves along—and the spark between Bex and Sam threatens to burn down the studio—the pair realize they’re faced with two actual Who is their Big Name Fan? And was Jen’s death an accident, or did someone want her dead? Sifting through clues as they question cast and crew, the duo will need to separate fact from fiction as they make their personal partnership into an unmistakable canon . . .
6. Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Deibert – February 25
Bea Mullins Takes a Shot is Bea’s story as she joins her school’s all-girls hockey team. Even though her experience playing sports has never been good, she joins the team, trying not to let her best friend down. At first, she thinks she’d be happy just sitting on the bench. However, as she starts playing and meets Gabi, she realizes she wants to give her all and do good for the team (and Gabi).
As funds are running low and the team is in danger of being canceled, Gabi realizes she fears losing her team and her friends. This story is the perfect next read for fans of A League of Their Own and The Mighty Ducks.
Book Description: A League of Their Own meets The Mighty Ducks in this fierce and heartfelt queer MG contemporary novel about learning to face your fears even when your goals are on thin ice.
Some goals are worth falling for.
After a lifetime of humiliating sports experiences, Bea Mullins knows the best way to survive middle school is to stick to the sidelines. When PE is suddenly canceled, though, Bea is forced to join an after-school activity…which is how she ends up as a member of the Glenwood Geese, her middle school’s first all-girls hockey team.
Bea would be happy sitting on the bench, but she doesn’t want to let down her best friend, Celia. Plus, the more time Bea spends on the rinks, the more she comes to enjoy her teammates, especially the incredibly talented–and incredibly cool–co-captain Gabi. But when low funding puts the Geese in danger of never playing again, Bea realizes she may lose everything she didn’t know she wanted.
A hilarious and heartfelt middle-grade contemporary about first crushes and fierce friendships from debut author Emily Deibert.
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What will you be reading in February? Share your picks in the comments below!
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature who works in PR. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Tell-Tale TV, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.
